Translating Discovery Science. Fostering relationships: Service provider perspectives on community building among veteran families.

Objective: We sought to identify the social process through which communal support can be established among veteran couples and families. Background: On the basis of the social organization theory of action and change, a sense of community is crucial for military veterans' well-being and may serve as a resource for intervention. Method: We interviewed service providers (n = 8) and corroborated their perspectives by triangulating evaluations from veteran family participants (n = 143). Data were analyzed using grounded theory techniques. Results: Providers suggested promoting a sense of community in prevention and intervention programming by (a) establishing a safe and empowering space, (b) bridging existing gaps within family and community systems, and (c) encouraging interpersonal healing by promoting connection and facilitating the sharing of common experiences. Providers also described challenges to facilitating the program, including logistics, time, and funding constraints. Conclusion: According to our results, fostering community among veterans and their family members may be achieved by applying an integrative approach that goes beyond siloed individual, couple, and group therapy orchestrated by practitioners. Implications: We recommend multicomponent interventions that create synergy between different levels and forms of social support. Providers recommended being intentional about the program structure to focus on community strengths and shared connection.

Psychological and relational health profiles of soldiers in committed romantic relationships.

The present study explored the heterogeneity of military service members' psychological and relational functioning using a sample of 7,866 soldiers in committed romantic relationships from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Service members (Army STARRS). A latent profile analysis was conducted to identify and predict unique clusters of soldiers' relative psychological (i.e., posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety symptom severity) and relational (i.e., relationship happiness, how often their relationship was going well, how often they confided in their partner, how often they considered or discussed ending their relationship, relational insecurity, and relational turbulence) functioning. Results revealed 4 distinct classes of comparative psychological and relational health: hardy soldiers and healthy relaters (70.2%), stressed soldiers but healthy relaters (13.1%), hardy soldiers but strained relaters (12.7%), and stressed soldiers and strained relaters (4.0%). Class descriptions, as well as implications for theory and clinical practice are reviewed. Notably, 7 out of 10 soldiers in this nationally representative sample reported little to no psychological or relational distress. These findings invite more adaptive narratives of service member resilience and a more nuanced conceptualization of gradations in psychological and relational functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Army Soldiers and Suicidal Thoughts: The Impact of Negative Relationship Dynamics Moderated by the Dissolution of Romantic Relationships.

Suicide among United States active-duty Army soldiers rapidly increased over the past two decades. Using a sample of 322 soldiers from the Army STARRS study, the researchers examined if romantic relationship factors (i.e., hostile disagreements and relationship distress) were linked with suicidal thoughts in Army soldiers, and if these associations were moderated by a recent separation or divorce. Hostile disagreements and relational distress were both significantly associated with higher rates of suicidal ideation. These associations were significantly amplified in magnitude when in the context of a recent separation or divorce. Implications include novel assessment, prevention, and treatment efforts focused on romantic relationships that may reduce the likelihood of soldiers experiencing thoughts of suicide.